Still working on clearing the links: as quickly as I clear them, I find new articles… This is a collection of “What The Fucks” — things that just totally surprise me:
- A Hairball Where? This one came across one of the link collections I see, and was marked NSFW. Here’s the subtitle, which should give you an idea of the tease: “I went to see my gynecologist about aches in my lower abdomen. I never could have guessed that my cats would be to blame.” Curious? Read on at your own risk. I have no idea if this is true.
- A Matter of Perspective. The news has been filled with the breakup of Kermit and Miss Piggy. People are taking it far too seriously — for example, feminists are upset that Kermit’s new girlfriend is too thin. But here’s the thing that creates the WTF — more so that you never thought about it. Kermit was right to leave Piggy — she was a domestic abuser, constantly beating up her loved one. Now, think about all the times you saw Piggy beating up Kermit with her purse, hard enough to knock him over. Why didn’t we see it?
- Neti Pot Worries. From time to time, I use a neti pot (always with salted water) to clear my sinuses. All the reports about brain eating amoebas have me worried? Is the salt sufficient? After all, I don’t go swimming in freshwater lakes. Let’s add to the WTF worries: the normal level of chlorination in domestic water supplies is insufficient to kill the amoeba due to biofilms.
- Mathematics in Real Life. We’ve all seen motorcycles do those turns with an incredible leans. Here’s an article on the math behind those turns, and how motorcycles somehow come up with a coefficient of friction greater than one. Some are as high as 1.7. Don’t try this at home.
- Judeo-Christian is a Bad Term. This one is courtesy of my daughter, who posted it on her tumblr yesterday: the common term “Judeo-Christian” is an extremely poor term and exclusionary. Quoting from the article: “… it’s almost always erasing and inaccurate! most of the time, what the person means is “abrahamic religions” – this is the group of religions that share the story of abraham. it includes but is not limited to judaism, christianity, and islam. ¶ “judeo-christian” is a term used by the christian right to a) purposefully exclude muslims from the abrahamic tradition, b) align christianity and judaism together as “western” (i.e., white) religions, when these religions are neither practiced primarily or exclusively by white people nor united by any kind of ethnic identity, and c) erase their own ongoing antisemitism. they create a narrative of being allies of jews, when in reality they actively work to promote christian culture, religious beliefs, and moral codes over all non-christian ones, including those of jews.”
- Cassette Tapes as a Business. With all the digital downloads, we probably think that the cassette business is a dead business. After all, when was the last time you really made a mix tape on tape. But it turns out that the one company still making cassettes has a booming business. About 70 percent of the company’s sales are from music cassettes while the rest are blank cassettes. You want that analog sound and need something portable? Cassettes. Then again, you could try this portable vinyl player.
Music: “Mahna Mahna” (Mahna Mahna & The Two Snowths) from The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem & More!
